Tiptoeing Through the News By J.E. Dean

There’s nothing like a horrific murder to get our attention. That murder happened last Wednesday, and because you already know about it, we don’t have to discuss it here. But what I’m watching is how the crime is impacting the rest of the news, things like Israel’s attack on Hamas in Qatar, the pending government shutdown, and even last weekend’s Emmy Awards.

I see broadcasters tiptoeing through the news, especially from reporters who might already have felt some degree of intimidation by the Trump administration or the political force that increasingly just describes itself as MAGA. President Trump, Vice President Vance, and many other Republicans have suggested that “the left” somehow set the stage for the events in Utah last week. Although the evidence to date suggests the shooter acted alone, Trump and his allies suggest the existence of opposition to MAGA “radicalized” the shooter and thus “the left” should share the blame for the most prominent political murder in recent memory.

President Trump suggested last weekend that 93-year-old George Soros should be jailed for funding Democratic and pro-democracy groups. Jailed. I politely disagree. 

Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s wife, told Fox News “evildoers” were behind her husband’s murder and that they “should all know this: If you thought my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country, and this world.” I wonder if Kirk would have approved.  It sounds like a threat, not a call for civil discourse.

A little less politely, I condemn Stephen Miller’s call for “the left” to be “dismantled,” because he says, “the left” foments violence and encourages “terrorism.”  Ironically, Miller’s words might terrify people who are even mildly left leaning because “dismantling” sounds like a call for political violence. I have never met anyone who wanted to be “dismantled.”

Since September 10, Democrats, with exceptions, have wisely been cautious in discussing last Wednesday’s shooting. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jefffries, for example, said, “I am shocked by the murder of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Political violence of any kind and against any individual is unacceptable and completely incompatible with American values. We pray for his family during this tragedy. “ 

Appropriately, no mention was made of Kirk’s sometimes racist, transphobic and homophobic rhetoric, but Jeffries should have at least mentioned political disagreements. He unintentionally contributed to what some are referring to as the canonization of Kirk.

Matthew Dowd of MSNBC got fired for saying, “Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. You can’t stop with these sorts of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and then not expect awful actions to take place.”

In firing Matthew Dowd, MSNBC called his comments “inappropriate, insensitive, and unacceptable.”  Did you know that Dowd worked for Republican George W. Bush? The words that got him fired don’t read as a call to violence or a suggestion that advocates of controversial political positions deserve to be shot.

In firing Dowd, MSNBC is tiptoeing around the news. I sense that while the network has repeatedly reported on “the right’s” political rhetoric and condemned it, it is increasingly intimidated from doing so. And given that President Trump has repeatedly threatened networks with revocation of broadcast licenses and personally called for the firing of journalists (and comedians), MSNBC may be wise to avoid “poking the bear.”

For the last week, I haven’t seen much about efforts of red states to redraw districting maps to eliminate Democratic seats in the House of Representatives. That story may be seen as an attack on the right from Democrats since the implication is that the Republicans seek to avoid electoral defeat in 2026 by rewriting the rules for the election. 

We need to hear about what’s going on. We also need to read about the President’s health, about the release of the Epstein files (remember those?), jobs statistics, inflation, and things like Andy Harris saying western Maryland doesn’t need FEMA disaster assistance because the state can pay for it with Wes Moore’s tax increase.

I condemn all political violence and would like to see the right and left (and the middle) tone down the rhetoric, but I don’t want to see the news media tiptoe around the news. We need to count on the press and our two-party political system to serve as a check and balance against the powers that are in power. 

We need to avoid tiptoeing. Abdication will not save American democracy. We need free, vigorous, and civil political debate and news reporting. Violence should have no place in our political system. Neither should intimidation. 

J.E. Dean writes on politics, government but, too frequently, on President Trump. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean also writes for Dean’s Issues & Insights on Substack.